With an estimated $89 million in assets before it filed for Chapter 11, General Motors has become the U.S.'s fourth largest bankruptcy, joining the ranks of fallen corporate behemoths like WorldCom and Enron

Enron Corp.

James Nielsen / Getty

2001

$66 billion in pre-filing assets

The high-flying energy company made billions trading esoteric derivatives until insiders blew the whistle on Enron's massive accounting
fraud  prompting a bankruptcy filing that rocked the U.S. financial
world. The company was instantly devalued and thousands of employees were laid
off, their pensions evaporated. Executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling
were both convicted of fraud and other charges, although Lay died before
being sentenced.